Team Japan entered this year’s World Baseball Classic as one of the favorites to take home gold, especially after they won the tournament back in 2023, defeating Team USA in the championship game.
However, in their quarterfinal matchup on Saturday night against Venezuela, despite leading 5–2 at one point, their bats went cold over several innings. Home runs from Maikel Garcia and Wilyer Abreu gave Venezuela the lead, and an insurance run added later helped seal an 8–5 final.
Now, with the semifinals set and Japan headed home, manager Hirokazu Ibata announced he will step down after just his first stint as manager of the team in the WBC.
“Results are everything,” Ibata said after the loss, according to Sports Hochi.
“I know we lost this time, but Team Japan — I would hope Japan would get better next time,” Ibata added. “I hope Team Japan will win next time.”
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This marks the first time in the 20-year history of the World Baseball Classic that Japan failed to reach the semifinals — a testament not only to their past success against international competition but also to the high expectations placed on the team.
Shohei Ohtani spoke about the loss following the game.
“Of course it was a wonderful experience,” Ohtani said. “But if you don’t win it all, then in a sense it’s a failure. That’s probably what the result comes down to.
“Everyone was working only toward winning the championship: the manager, the staff, the people behind the scenes. Everyone was aiming for that. So, it’s very disappointing for it to end like this.”
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